OSU v. Tulsa Game Article

Cowboys Blow Away Golden Hurricanes, 65-28

Stillwater - The Oklahoma State Cowboys and Tulsa Golden Hurricanes took the field Saturday night for the first time since 2004, a game that saw the Cowboys take home a win 38-21. 2010’s matchup proved to be nothing short of an offensive shootout for the home Cowboys. 

This would be the school’s 71st meeting, and the first time Head Coaches Mike Gundy and Todd Graham would meet on the gridiron. The Cowboys, led by Senior Running Back Kendall Hunter and Junior Quarterback Brandon Weeden, the Hurricane’s by fellow Juniors, G.J. Kinne, Quarterback, and Damarius Johnson, Wide Receiver. 

Each team got four cracks at the field to start the game. Oklahoma State struck first with a 48 yard drive that saw Placekicker Dan Bailey hit a 49 yard field goal. After Tulsa failed to push the Cowboys defense, OSU hit pay-dirt again, this time, a Brandon Weeden pass to Michael Harrison for the game’s first touchdown giving the Pokes a 10-0 advantage.

The Cowboy defense made it’s impact felt on Tulsa’s second possession when Cornerback Broderick Brown intercepted Tulsa QB G.J. Kinne. OSU would push the ball into Tulsa territory where Bailey hit his second field goal of the quarter from 34 yards for a 13-0 lead.

Tulsa would get its first big play of the game when Damarius Johnson ran the Cowboy kickoff back 43 yards; however, the Golden Hurricanes were unable to capitalize on good field position and gave the ball back to the Pokes.

Weeden and Junior Wide Receiver Hubert Anyiam would hook up twice on the following drive, first for 34 yards and then for an 18 yard touchdown. Offensive Coordinator Dana Holgorsen saw his squad put up 219 yards and 20 points in the first quarter alone. 

The Golden Hurricane would use a 17 play drive spanning the latter moments of the 1st quarter into the 2nd to reach the endzone for the first time. Kinne would punch the ball in from one yard out to make the score 20-7. 

Unfortunately for Tulsa, the Cowboys once again had an answer. Brandon Weeden led the Pokes down the field on a 81 yard drive, hitting Sophomore Wideout Justin Blackmon for a 7 yard touchdown pass. 

On the ensuing Tulsa drive, the Cowboys defense would step up again and make another big play. Cornerback Andrew McGee picked off Kinne in the endzone as it looked as though the Golden Hurricane were about to score and returned the pick 79 yards to the Tulsa 21 yard line. 

It only took Brandon Weeden one play to find a familiar target as Justin Blackmon streaked into the corner of the endzone for a 21 yard touchdown toss. As the half came to a close, the Pokes would once again take the ball down the field after a good punt by Tulsa’s Michael Such to the Cowboy nine yard line. 

Weeden found Junior Wideout Josh Cooper in the endzone for a 19 yard touchdown pass and the Cowboy lead was extended to a whopping 41-7 as the teams entered halftime. 

Weeden trotted to the locker room touting a 207.5 passer rating as he completed 22 of 31 passes for 328 yards and 5 Cowboy touchdowns. All-American candidate Kendall Hunter added 59 rushing yards on only 11 attempts for an average of 5.4 yards per carry. Blackmon ended the half with 5 receptions for 93 yards and 2 scores of his own. The Cowboy offense and defense were on a major roll in this in-state battle for bragging rights. 

The Cowboys wasted no time to start the second half. After a three-and-out by Tulsa, Weeden took three plays to find Blackmon again, this time for an 81 yard touchdown reception, Blackmon’s third of the game. 

Another Tulsa punt would see Head Coach Gundy pull Weeden from the game, opting for backup red-shirt freshman Clint Chelf. The Cowboys would score again with a Dan Bailey 27 yard field goal, making the score 51-7, but the Pokes were not done yet.

Tulsa’s Kinne would commit his third turnover of the game, tossing an interception to Andrae May. Four plays later, Chelf found Hubert Anyiam in the endzone for a 10 yard touchdown, extending the Cowboy lead to a staggering 58-7. 

Tulsa would finally light the scoreboard for only their second touchdown of the game mid-way through the 3rd. G.J. Kinne found Sophomore Half-Back Willie Carter on a flat pass to the corner of the endzone for a 7 yard strike for a score of 58-14.

Weeden ended his day with a total of 414 yards passing on 25 completions, 6 touchdowns and a passer rating of 234. Wideout Justin Blackmon added one more touchdown to his statistics, giving him a total of 9 for the season, currently tops in the NCAA. As a team, the Cowboys totaled an unbelievable 590 yards to end the third quarter, averaging 9.7 yards per play.

The rest of the game saw each side’s second team payers take the field and it was Tulsa’s backup Sophomore QB Shavodrick Beaver that would lead the Golden Hurricane’s to their third score of the game, capping a long drive with a 2 yard touchdown dive by Freshman RB Trey Watts. 

The Cowboy’s Clint Chelf would commit OSU’s first turnover of the game, tossing a beautifully returned 81 yard “pick-six” to Tulsa Freshman DB Marco Nelson, making the score 58-28. 

After a Chelf 27 yard touchdown pass to red-shirt Freshman Charlie Moore, the final score was 65-28. Coach Holgorsen’s potent offense would rack up a devastating  726 yards of total offense, a new school record. The Cowboy defense did allow Tulsa’s offense over 400 yards, but the Golden Hurricane’s three turnovers proved to be their demise. 

Up next for the Cowboys is a long layoff until their much anticipated Big XII home opener September 30th with the Texas A & M Aggies, who struggled with Florida International on their home field. For Tulsa, a tilt with Central Arkansas awaits at home on the 25th, a game the Golden Hurricane’s should be able to use to get back on track and into the win column.  

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